Retamim () is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in the central

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

desert in southern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Located three kilometres northwest of

Revivim Revivim ( he, רְבִיבִים, , (rain) showers) is a kibbutz in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located around half an hour south of Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. In it had a population o ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Ramat HaNegev Regional Council Ramat HaNegev Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית רמת הנגב, ''Mo'atza Azorit Ramat HaNegev'', ''lit.'' Negev Heights Regional Council) is a regional council in the Negev desert in Israel. With around 8,000 residents spread across ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The community was founded by a group of

demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...

IDF soldiers and new immigrants who started to gather in kibbutz

Be'eri Be'eri ( he, בְּאֵרִי) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kib ...

in 1978. A second group was established in

in early 1979. The two groups merged in mid-1979 and moved to a caravan site opposite what is now Park Golda after Tlalim had moved to its permanent site in December 1979. However, due to lack of support from the

Kibbutz Movement The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...

, the kibbutz did not expand, and the movement acted to evict the members, some moved to

others to other kibbutzim and the rest to the towns, until eventually only one of the original members remained In 1983 the kibbutz was finally established on its present site, assisted by Nahal soldiers from the Hebrew Scouts. In 1994 it united with kibbutz Revivim after suffering from social problems and members leaving. Some of its houses were converted into a

holiday village A holiday village (also abbreviated HV) is a holiday resort where the visitors stay in villas. There is a central area with shops, entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience ...

called Rotem BeMidbar, though this closed in 2000. It now serves as an

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

absorption centre catering largely for

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

References

{{Ramat Negev Regional Council Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1983 Populated places in Southern District (Israel) 1983 establishments in Israel Ethiopian-Jewish culture in Israel